Update! -7:45pm- The Cubs are not in on Edmonds according to many sources. The Cubs have signed Chad Tracy to a minor league deal to cement the fact that the Cubs and Edmonds will not have a reunion. Tracy will make 900K if he makes the team and can earn up to 525K if he makes 450 plate appearances.
This is a good move for the Cubs. Tracy will provide injury insurance for Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez even if he starts in AAA which I do not see happening. Tracy has had many injuries in his career and has yet to live up to his .911 OPS in 2005 but a change of scenery could change all that. You can find Tracy's lifetime stats here and his splits here. He really hits well against RHP and provides good defense as well, this could spell the end of Hoffpauir in Chicago. The Cubs will announce the signing Wednesday.
-First reported by Bruce Levine, the Cubs are going to sign Xavier Nady if he passes his physical. Tim Brown tweets that Nady reached an agreement on a one year deal pending a physical which could cause some problems because of his repaired elbow. Heyman has the details on the contract. Nady will get 3.3 million guaranteed plus 2 million in incentives based on games played.
Seems like a very reasonable deal for the Cubs. Nady provides them with good power and decent defense. Nady will likely platoon with Fukudome while filling in for Soriano and Lee from time to time. It should be noted that he can also play CF as well. You can check Nady's career stats here and his split stats here. I got to say I love his lifetime stats against lefties (.308 AVG, .383 OBP, .854 OPS, in 597 ABs) and his Wrigley Field numbers (.304 AVG., .371 OBP, and .812 OPS in 102 ABs). Both numbers make this a very good signing for the Cubs as long as his elbow is fine.
- The A's signed Ben Sheets to a one year deal worth 10 million plus performance bonuses. I am glad the Cubs did not make that mistake. Of course the A's could use him as trade bait (to Cubs?) at the deadline if they are out of the playoff picture and get some good prospects in return. But that is only if Sheets stays healthy.
- Are the Cubs one of the two tams left in on the Edmonds sweepstakes? According to one baseball source the Cubs are one of the two teams in on Jimmy Ballgame. This source says the Cubs are offering the league minimum with a guaranteed roster spot while one of my readers says he has heard it is a minor league deal with an invite to ST. Both the source and reader agree that Edmonds would be used as the 5th outfielder and spell Lee at 1st. This would likely leave Hoffpauir as trade bait or start the year in AAA. I have not confirmed this source and rumor with any "Chicago Writers" but I thought I would throw it out there for you.
- If the Nady does sign and Edmonds signs as well, expect a reliever to be inked soon. Jim likes to do things in bunches.
- Orlando Hudson's price tag continues to drop while the Cubs interest in him continues to increase. The Cubs may do what the Dodgers did last season and sign Hudson in February for a low base salary with incentives. One things is for sure the Cubs are keeping their eyes open for upgrades at 2nd base because it is the weak spot in the field and lineup.
- The Cubs have contacted Chan Ho Park's agent and he is reportedly looking for 3-4 million a year. So a deal is not likely. Why not Smoltz again?
- CCO.com has the latest Cub prospect rankings. Check out what they say about Vitters, Castro, and the surprising good comments for Hak-Ju Lee. They do a good job of breaking things down and laying it out there for you. CCO you are truely a first rate Cubs site.
More Later......
3 comments:
I don't like Nady in the 10 years hes played he has averaged 67.9 games a year. 225.7 at bats. He is always hurt. You got Soriano in left Byrd in center and Nady in right.Cubs defense was 21st in baseball last year and it just got worse.
Last year our pitching was 5th best
in the majors. But we lost Harden and Lilly for 2 months. Gorzelanny
Samsrdzija, Diamond and Marshall 2 of those should fill in nicely.
Our bullpen got worse too. Gregg and Heilman replaced by Silva and Gray.
This team is so bad Lee will be traded by the allstar break.
( i know he has a no trade clause hes going to want to go )
Nady was my choice over options like Dye... but if the reported salary is true... makes me wonder how the Cubs and Reed Johnson couldnt make a deal. Nady provides more pop, Johnson is the more scrappy and defensive option, and both are coming off injury marred seasons with health questions to remain in 2010. I wonder if Johnson wasnt interested in an incentive deal that Nady is signing for or if the Cubs werent offering as much because Johnson lacks Nady's pop.
The Edmonds rumor is interesting. I felt they should have brought him back in 2009, but seeing how no other MLB team picked him up at any point last season, maybe there was more to it than we know. I hope its a minor league deal with a ST invite because as much as he actually grew on me the one season he was a Cub, at his age I would rather see him compete for the 5th OF spot with Fuld in ST than the Cubs just giving him a roster spot.
If I remember correctly, Chan Ho got a little over $1 mil last season. Hopefully his price comes down closer to that number as he would be a perfect fit for the set up job, but not at $3 to $4 mil. Maybe $2 mil plus incentives? I would still pick him over Smoltz only because you have to wonder if his good numbers were due to the magic of Dave Duncan in STL. Plus I would imagine Smoltz would demand the same price range as Park is right now.
I guess we wont know until the reliever is signed, but if the Cubs go on the cheap salary wise for the reliever, I'll also wonder if they should have waited out longer on Nady or went with a cheaper option like Gomes and splash a little more on the RP.
Can you find out if there are any other teams in need of a lefty bat IF that Fonty can be dealt to other than the Orioles? I've wanted Hudson on the Cubs since last offseason, but it wont happen until Fonty is moved. I guess Baker could be moved too since Hudson is a switch hitter, but right now I rate Baker over Fonty.
Joe
CUBS signed Tracy also. I guess its going to be called Wrigley hospital soon.
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